BJ Penn | Source: MMAWeekly.com
BJ Penn stayed atop the lightweight divisional buzz rankings in April for the fifth straight month, making him clearly the most popular 155 pound fighter despite his loss to new champion Frank Edgar. Edgar, who defeated Penn via decision at UFC 112, rose four spots to second in the rankings, ahead of Shinya Aoki who held onto third place following his stateside debut for Strikeforce. Dropping from the top 20 were notable names including Caol Uno, Kurt Pellegrino, and Jim Miller. Full Top 20 rankings are below.
Tapology’s Buzz Rankings measure fan interest in individual MMA fighters based on online searches and pageviews for information about each athlete. The rankings are not a measure of a fighter’s skill or competitive standing within their division, but rather how much activity or “buzz” surrounds them (positive or negative).
Top 20 Lightweight Buzz Rankings for recent months:
- March 2010 (#1 Rank: BJ Penn)
- February 2010 (#1 Rank: BJ Penn)
- January 2010 (#1 Rank: BJ Penn)
| April Rank | Lightweight Fighter | Change From Last Month |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BJ Penn | No Change |
| 2 | Frankie Edgar | Up 4 |
| 3 | Shinya Aoki | No Change |
| 4 | Kenny Florian | Up 1 |
| 5 | Takanori Gomi | Down 3 |
| 6 | Benson Henderson | Up 21 |
| 7 | Gilbert Melendez | Up 10 |
| 8 | Gray Maynard | Up 4 |
| 9 | Roger Huerta | No Change |
| 10 | Tyson Griffin | Up 4 |
| 11 | Sean Sherk | Down 3 |
| 12 | Clay Guida | Down 8 |
| 13 | Joe Stevenson | Down 2 |
| 14 | Donald Cerrone | Up 30 |
| 15 | Ricardo Mayorga | Up 15 |
| 16 | George Sotiropoulos | No Change |
| 17 | Terry Etim | Up 11 |
| 18 | Rafael Dos Anjos | Up 21 |
| 19 | Ross Pearson | Down 4 |
| 20 | Eddie Alvarez | No Change |
Dropped out of Top 20:
Caol Uno (#21), Kurt Pellegrino (#27), Jim Miller (#52), Mark Bocek (#63), Fabricio Camoes (#84)
